The heat keeps coming across southern Idaho, and with it\ncomes challenges like low water levels and algae blooms. But don\u2019t despair!\nDespite the heat, there are quality fishing options across our region. Escaping\ninto the mountains is always a solid option, and cooling off with a wet wading\nor float tube trip are great ways to beat the heat. As you plan your August\ntrips, here are a few options to keep in mind: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Horsethief Reservoir (Trout)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Horsethief is a solid option for catching trout virtually\nyear-round. Located about 10 minutes east of Cascade, the reservoir boasts\nbeautiful alpine scenery and temperatures 10-15 degrees cooler than the\nTreasure Valley. There are dozens of established campsites, and plenty of bank\nand dock access for shore anglers. Spinners, spoons, worms and Power Bait are\nall solid choices. Horsethief is a great place for boats, as it is usually far\nless crowded on the water than on the bank. Trolling with wedding rings,\nhoochies and other pop gear tipped with worms and corn is a great strategy\u2014my\ngroup caught two nice limits of trout in short order during a recent boating\ntrip. And because it\u2019s a no-wake lake, smaller watercraft like canoes, kayaks,\nrafts and float tubes are a great way to get out and enjoy part of the lake to\nyourself. Stocked rainbow trout in the 12 to 15-inch range are by far the most\ncommon catch, but Horsethief also has brown trout, brook trout and Kokanee\nsalmon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n C.J. Strike Reservoir (Mixed Bag) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most reliable fisheries in our region, C.J.\nStrike continues to produce a variety of species as we head into late summer.\nCrappie are biting on vertical jigs as well as trolled crankbaits, and most are\nreally nice slabs up to 14 inches. Bass, smallmouth in particular, can be\ncaught on Ned rigs, soft plastics, jigs, crankbaits and occasional topwater\nplugs. Trout usually move a little deeper to beat the heat, but they can still\nbe caught with bait or trolling rigs near the dam. C.J. is also home to\nsturgeon, catfish, bluegill, perch and more. There have been reports of algae\nblooms, but I\u2019ve fished it twice in recent weeks with good success and no algae\nissues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Boise River (Trout) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Flows have come down on the Boise in recent weeks, making it\nmuch more friendly for walk-and-wade fishing trips. Worms, spinners, dry flies,\nnymphs and streamers are all worthy options, depending on bug hatches and river\nconditions. My favorite strategy is throwing Rapalas, which work well for\ntargeting brown trout as well as bigger, wild rainbows. Thousands of\ncatchable-sized rainbows are stocked in the Boise every year, too, with the\nmajority of fish going in between Barber Park and the Glenwood Bridge. On hot\nsummer days, it is best to avoid the stretch between Barber Park and Ann\nMorrison Park, which is often crowded with folks floating the river. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Halverson Lake (Bass, Bluegill)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This desert gem is a personal favorite of mine. Late summer\nis a fun time to fish it because weed growth around the edges all but\neliminates shore fishing\u2014the only way in is with a float tube, which feels fantastic\nafter a hot one-mile hike into the lake. Halverson is home to largemouth bass\nand bluegill. Many of the fish are medium-sized, but there are some big ones.\nSoft plastics, tube jigs, spinnerbaits and topwater frogs are good lure options\nfor bass, while bluegill prefer small panfish jigs tipped with a mealworm. Both\nspecies can be caught on flies, too\u2014a hopper-dropper setup with a small\ntrailing nymph should do the trick. Tight lines! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The heat keeps coming across southern Idaho, and with it comes challenges like low water levels and algae blooms. But don\u2019t despair! Despite the heat, there are quality fishing options across our region. Escaping into the mountains is always a solid option, and cooling off with a wet wading or float tube trip are great…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1922"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1925,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1922\/revisions\/1925"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}